Alfine 11speed users. Your experence sought

Good to know, although I would assume the 11 speed would be heavier with the extra gears?

So assuming by doing this it puts more weight over the rear axle rather then over the whole bike.

Would still love to get an 11 speed Alfine on the back of my full sus. Would need to run a tensioner of course.
 
FST4RD":2em6rrco said:
Good to know, although I would assume the 11 speed would be heavier with the extra gears?

So assuming by doing this it puts more weight over the rear axle rather then over the whole bike.

Would still love to get an 11 speed Alfine on the back of my full sus. Would need to run a tensioner of course.

I don't think that the 11 speed Alfine is much (if any) heavier than the 8 speed but, as you say, the weight is more noticeable because it's all concentrated in one place. Although it's not the worst place it could be, it's fairly low down and although it's rotating weight it's all near the wheel centre where it has least effect.
On a full suspension bike the downside is that it'll be all unsprung weight, if you bother about these things......
 
Some good info chaps, thanks for your replies.

So it looks like going Alfine isn't going to make a bike that much heavier. It looks like the issue is that the weight is centered around the rear of the bike. I read somewhere recently that fitting an alfine over a 30 speed set up moved the centre of balance back by 30mm on a test bike. That's not a problem for me as I'm building the frame from scratch and can take that figure into consideration. I prefer a rearward weight bias anyway as I find it easier to lift the front up out on the trails. I'm planning on building the bike around Jeff Jone's mantra of keeping the bike short and slack to take the weight off my buggered wrists, so expect a rearward weight balance anyway.

One more question, what's the smallest rear cog available? I want to run as small a front ring as possible to maximize clearance without going too high on BB height. Also, what is the ideal ratio for the 29" wheelsize?

Thanks
Si
 
Andy R":21q5narr said:
FST4RD":21q5narr said:
Good to know, although I would assume the 11 speed would be heavier with the extra gears?

So assuming by doing this it puts more weight over the rear axle rather then over the whole bike.

Would still love to get an 11 speed Alfine on the back of my full sus. Would need to run a tensioner of course.

I don't think that the 11 speed Alfine is much (if any) heavier than the 8 speed but, as you say, the weight is more noticeable because it's all concentrated in one place. Although it's not the worst place it could be, it's fairly low down and although it's rotating weight it's all near the wheel centre where it has least effect.
On a full suspension bike the downside is that it'll be all unsprung weight, if you bother about these things......

When you weigh almost 20 stone it wouldn't matter I would think :LOL:
How would one get on with a Truvativ Hammerschmidt up front?
 
Dr S":30xlxtn7 said:
One more question, what's the smallest rear cog available? I want to run as small a front ring as possible to maximize clearance without going too high on BB height. Also, what is the ideal ratio for the 29" wheelsize?

The smallest sprocket is, I think, 13T but how easy it is to find one I don't know. Any Sachs/SRAM IGH sprocket will also fit, as they have the same fitting interface - they aren't dished like the Shimano ones though, so will move the chainline in or out by 2.5mm.

Ideal ratio for 29" wheel? I'd start with something like 1.6:1 I suppose, so if you want more chainring clearance you could use something like 28:17 and go up or down from there.
I'm not the best person to ask though as I have my 8 speed geared really low, at 32:23 or 1.4:1....

Allegedly Shimano don't recommend going lower than 1.9:1 or you'll "invalidate the warranty" but my view is that it's probably not worth a toss and anyway, how would they know what ratio you were using when the hub failed?

I'm sure that there are some brutally strong riders who could destroy a hub whatever the ratio.
 
To go short, for serious MTB use, save a bit longer and buy a Rohloff, wish there was something equal and cheaper but there just isn't at this moment.
Rohloff has been in a league of it's own over the last 13 years.
 
yo-eddy":1ma49brx said:
To go short, for serious MTB use, save a bit longer and buy a Rohloff, wish there was something equal and cheaper but there just isn't at this moment.
Rohloff has been in a league of it's own over the last 13 years.

But not without their share of problems - what Rohloff does have is good after-sales service. But then IGH are their main business, whereas they're only a tiny part of Shimano's so I imagine that a bit of negative publicity regarding a few hub problems is of little concern to them (Shimano),whereas Rohloff, whose business revolves (sorry :oops: )solely around hubs, takes more care in looking after its customers.

Just my non serious opinion, obviously ;)
 
Andy R":17a4nrlo said:
yo-eddy":17a4nrlo said:
To go short, for serious MTB use, save a bit longer and buy a Rohloff, wish there was something equal and cheaper but there just isn't at this moment.
Rohloff has been in a league of it's own over the last 13 years.

But not without their share of problems - what Rohloff does have is good after-sales service. But then IGH are their main business, whereas they're only a tiny part of Shimano's so I imagine that a bit of negative publicity regarding a few hub problems is of little concern to them (Shimano),whereas Rohloff, whose business revolves (sorry :oops: )solely around hubs, takes more care in looking after its customers.

Just my non serious opinion, obviously ;)

I agree with you, no product is 100% perfect. The failure rate on Rohloff hubs is extremely low and when problems occur Rohloff will sort these at no extra cost. Fact is that the initial build quality of the Rohloff is many standards above the Shimano hubs, you pay for actual quality, they'll last more than 3 times longer, but for me the most important thing is, they can handle the forces that occur during hard of road use. The Shimano hubs were never intended for this kind of use and will eventually fail (in my case....very quickly....and that was on a commuter).
You pay more, you get more, simple :D
 
I'd like a Rohloff but they are too expensive for a bike that will only get used on occasion. Also if a Rohloff is three times more reliable than an Alfine, you can but three Alfines for the price of a Rohloff. No doubt the Rohloff is a better product with better aftersales, but I can't justify the cost.
 
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